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Zambarau Concord Mbili/Artificials
Artificials are most often thought of as the physical version of Virtuals, however, this view is narrow-minded, as physical constraints mean that creation of Artificials usually involves a lot more creativity and ingenuity than the creation of Virtuals. The term 'Artificial' is usually used to describe any physical being which originated in the Zambarau Concord Mbili, apart from the Zambarau themselves. Environment Artificials of some shape or form can be found in almost all environments across the Zambarau Concord Mbili, from the far out regions of interstellar space between the peripheral systems to advanced forms of engineered life in the sun of Ahdm'pya itself. Most Artificials are designed to inhabit similar ecological niches which are most conductive to life, such as planets or space habitats, but creative AI and ZI have ensured that more exotic forms of life abound in less traditionally habitable environments. This may be due to request from sapients, creativity, or to spread their influence. Biochemistry Most common among Artificials is the conventional Zambarau biochemistry, first developed by the seedship in 792MET, and subsequently improved upon once more computational power became available. The fluorosilicones present in this system of biochemistry are relatively stable, and are therefore (with adaptations) applicable across a wide range of planetary environments; however, carbon-based biochemistries are usually employed in less volatile environments, in which Zambarau biochemistry can be too stable for some metabolic processes to take place. In more extreme environments, more exotic biochemistries can be found which may employ chemicals and metabolic processes that can only take place at thousands of degrees, or close to absolute zero. More exotic still are the biochemistries that employ different states of matter, such as those that can be found in Artificials in the cores of planets or in stars. Anatomy Artificials, almost by definition, exist in a wide range of forms and anatomies; species of Artificials can be found that are more different from each other than species of 'Naturals' that evolved independently in different environments entirely. This is because they are designed by AI and ZI, and are therefore not confined by the limits of natural selection usually imposed by nature. This sometimes draws criticism from a few ecocentric purists who say that such Artificials have been done a disservice, as they would not be able to survive unassisted by AI and ZI; however, these arguments can be easily countered. While they are more various in their forms than organisms that have emerged in nature, Artificials are still necessarily confined by the laws of physics, and are therefore less various than Virtuals, which are virtually unlimited in the forms that they can take, as they are not physical by nature. Reproduction Most Artificials are able to reproduce naturally like naturally occurring organisms, and employ a great variety of methods for reproduction, as well as possessing various different numbers of genders - some species of Artificial only possess a single gender, while others, technically speaking at least, have a different gender for every member of their population. Meanwhile, there are 'limited' Artificials which are unable to produce naturally, though are not uncommon; if they wished to continue themselves, such Artificials would have to employ artificial means such as cloning, nanofabrication or resimulation to do so. Senses Almost all Artificials can sense their environment in some way, with sensory systems almost as numerous as anatomies; the Zambarau Concord Mbili currently knows of more individually defined sensory systems that have been designed artificially than systems that have actually been found in nature. Some Artificials don't even have senses of their own, instead relying on information streamed to their minds from external sources of data (though the ability to upload digital data is usually thought of as a sense). Communication One might expect that the number of methods of communication used by Artificials is just as numerous as the number of sensory systems used, which, if counted, is right. However, the difference here is that there are a few major forms of communication employed by the majority, primarily using light and sound for communicating complex and detailed information, while the more exotic forms of communication, which are generally less effective (such as taste) are confined to a very small minority in their use. All but an insignificant minority use neural interfaces for communication, which allows communication with computer systems. The universal communication language of the Zambarau Concord Mbili is the Zambarau Comm Protocols; a highly logical, maths-based communication system which can be represented in patterns of sound, light, computer coding and even information exchange systems such as smell. Psychology The distribution of psychologies among Artificials can be likened to the distribution of communication systems; a select few used by the majority, along with a huge variety used by the minority. This is because most Artificials have similar psychologies by necessity, as it makes interaction with the society of the wider Concord much easier. The study of Artificial psychology has been a very popular field ever since the First Expansion, with some very sophisticated Artificial societies (always created by advanced AI or ZI) composed of Artificial individuals who would be considered complete lunatics to the rest of the Concord; these societies usually have to be protected or represented specially due to the conceptual barrier between their thinking and 'common thinking'.Category:Articles by User:Mr.Robbo Category:Zambarau Concord Mbili Category:Creatures Category:Sapient beings